ElderCarelink Blog

Hospitals can be very confusing places for anybody, but one can only imagine how difficult they can be for someone who has limited or no proficiency in English. The machines, the doctors coming in at odd times for examinations, the nursing staff coming in to adjust the tubes entering the patient’s body — all of these things may cause additional stress for both the patient and the caregiver who can’t really understand English.

Like many people his age, Dad is on multiple medications that have been prescribed by several doctors. Therefore, we’ve come to depend on Dad’s pharmacist to help make sure he doesn’t have any drug interactions when he’s prescribed something new. But new research underscores that that safety net doesn’t always work.